Working from home – higher bills: should the employer pay them?

Working from home or mixed mode is mandatory for public sector employees, unless it is necessary to come to work. There is a recommendation for companies to work remotely, which is why many office workers are sent home as well.

However, not all employees who work from home are satisfied with the conditions available; There are a number of questions about how that work should be organized, what employers are responsible for and what employees are responsible for, says Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation.

“Before, we didn’t even think that such a large number would go to work remotely and be at home. Therefore, employees have the main questions when the office moves home: Should the employer compensate for the electricity, the water, the use of the desk, the Internet, the computer and everything else? ”says I. Ruginienė.

According to her, the legislation regulates only in general terms: employers must create safe working conditions and provide them with the necessary tools. But there are no detailed explanations of what and how to provide in cases where there is quarantine in the country and work at home is massive.

“This is most relevant for office workers who work with a computer. Obviously, the employer must provide the necessary work tools, such as a computer, telephone, Internet, paper, pen, everything that an employee needs. However, as with electricity and the rental of the space itself, this is not really defined in any legislation. Generally, if you look at Europe as well, these costs fall into the employee’s pocket and the employee contributes with their own resources by offsetting those expenses, ”says I. Ruginienė.

It is becoming increasingly attractive for her to organize her work in this way because they save.

“You no longer need to rent an office, you don’t need to buy coffee, water, sugar, various sweets, all that already saves you, because the employee takes care of everything at home,” explains I. Ruginienė.

Another problem is that the work-rest regime at home vanishes, when a person works, when he rests.

“If you come to the office at 8 o’clock and leave at 5 o’clock, everything seems clear, your boss knows that it is not very ethical to call after work, unless it is a very important issue. In the meantime, when works from home, everyone plans their work schedule individually, some work better in the morning, others at night, and it turns out that colleagues and employers call each other at any time, available until people also work on weekends ”, comments I. Ruginiene.

It lacks the responsibility of employers to clearly define the organization of work and to coordinate with employees so that there are no questions about when are working hours and when are personal.

“It should be clear to everyone that breaks, lunch breaks also exist, even when working from home, and that the rest regime must be maintained, even when working remotely. I say from experience: people dedicate themselves to teleworking, if they do not cope with time, they get tired and burned, because the sensation of time is completely mixed ”, says I. Ruginienė.

VDI agrees: employers must be consulted

Šarūnas Orlavičius, Head of the Labor Law Division of the State Labor Inspectorate, assesses that the expectation of reimbursement of costs by employees is legal and should be discussed with the employer.

“When working remotely, the employer must provide all the necessary work equipment. If it’s a laptop, the employer gives you the computer, the work phone. But perhaps it may also be the case that the employee does not have some kind of desk or chair at home; well, the employer should basically take care of that too. Maybe hand over that work desk or chair so the employee can work comfortably. We are talking about the health and safety requirements of employees: not to sit and work on some kind of sofa, which can harm the spine or health, but to have a quality ergonomic workplace, ”says Š. Orlavičius.

The requirement to pay for electricity, internet, water or other operating expenses incurred, according to Š. Orlavičius, it would be legal if it was not used for personal purposes but for work.

“Employers could envisage a kind of compensation mechanism. Clearly the employer cannot bring their electricity or Internet to everyone’s home; the employee uses his own, but is paid compensation for it. Or if he uses one personal computer, some compensation for using a personal computer for work. Actually, such a requirement would be legal, “says a representative from VDI.

Recommends that employers, although this is not mandatory, formalize telework separately.

“Telework can be formalized: the employee submits a request, the employer adopts an order according to its procedure and allows the employee to work remotely. Entrepreneurs can have their own internal procedures where everything is regulated: when to submit an application, what should the application indicate, how long the application is considered, when it is granted or not. The situation is now such that if there are no objective reasons why it is not possible to work remotely, then everyone should work remotely, ”says Š. Orlavičius.

Employers should clearly define the working hours of a homeworker.

“Of course, you can agree that the employee divides his work time: he marks the beginning and the end. Such a right again would not be absolute, because, we can imagine, night work from 10 pm to 6 pm in the morning is paid at a higher rate of DU, that is, 1.5 times. Or, for example, overtime is paid one and a half times, work on days off or holidays – double pay. The right to set your own hours is not absolute, ”explains Š. Orlavičius.

He emphasizes that home-based workers should take a lunch break and rest no later than 5 hours after work. SLI doesn’t get many complaints for working from home.

“More questions of this type, but no complaints: how to organize properly, how to formalize telework, what to agree to when working remotely, what is important for teleworking from home, etc.”, assures Š. Orlavičius.

Companies say they are trying: they would like proportionality

Excessive demands on employees come as a surprise to employers: they assure them that employees are already fully equipped and that working from home brings more benefits than incurring additional costs.

“That’s why I smiled because I didn’t hear anyone complain about working from home and demanding compensation. The computer is natural, it comes from the office. When you think you have more flexible working conditions, it is a question of whether many people will request reimbursement for some other costs, ”says Rūta Skyrienė, Executive Director of the Investor Forum Association.

She says that employees who do not stay at home do not have to go to work, have lunch in a cafe, they need less money for clothes, because there are no rules of etiquette at work at home; employees save on these costs.

“It should be up to the institutions and organizations themselves, in consultation with their colleagues and staff, to decide whether to reimburse or not. The logic is in that, but on the other hand, working from home is also a cost saving, not just a cost. You will also be more flexible in managing your work day, a person can spend more time with the children during the day and work more at night when the children go to bed. Well, there are some advantages, “says R. Skyrienė .

Paulius Jakutavičius, Director of Public Relations at Infobalt, assures that in the information technology sector it is not the employees who demand more, but the employers themselves offer additional benefits.

“Somehow, there are no utility problems in our industry, and the Internet at home is obvious. Businesses do it very differently. When it comes to communication, it is generally helpful to set up a home office at home: employees take chairs, additional monitors. The problem is that according to taxes, this counts as income in kind and therefore companies have to pay taxes as labor income, “says P. Jakutavičius.

Explain that there are cases where employers donated funds to the house, but then had to pay additional contributions to Sodra or STI.

STI: No fees are paid when there is a written agreement

Rasa Virvilienė, director of the Legal Department of the State Tax Inspectorate, explains that the Labor Code (DK) provides for the possibility that the employer and the employee agree on the use of their own means or assets. In this case, compensation may also be agreed for the employee for the use of his tools or assets.

“Compensation paid under the DK for the use of an employee’s work equipment or property is exempt from income tax if, for example, the company’s accounting policy establishes the procedure for calculating the amount of compensation and the conditions for the use of personal property and / or the payment of such compensation the conditions are named by R. Virvilienė.

When appointing to work remotely, workplace requirements (if applicable) must be established in writing, work equipment must be provided for use, the procedure for providing it, and rules for the use of work equipment.

‘If, while telecommuting, an employee incurs additional costs in connection with his work, the acquisition, installation and use of work equipment, these must be reimbursed. The amount of compensation and the conditions of its payment will be determined by the parties to the employment contract by agreement ”, explains R. Virvilienė.

The compensation paid for additional expenses related to the employee’s work, acquisition, installation and use of work equipment is not subject to income tax, the STI representative assures. Non-taxable income includes the amount of compensation that is credited with legally valid documents that prove expenses. The procedure for the payment of compensation must be regulated in the rules for the payment of compensation approved by the employer.

According to her, these compensations can also be considered deductions allowed for the payment of income tax.